Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies

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To Write Or Not To Write: 10 Tips To Becoming A Successful Author

To be or not to be. That is the question. Should you finally pursue your dream of becoming the author that you are meant to be, or stay in dreamland and keep your dream a dream…forever?

At some point, your creative juices would kick to bring light to your personal vision. However, a new question pops up – how can you make it, and become a successful, published author?

It is a matter of choice. When the why is clear, the how will appear. Learn how to make your whys match your hows with these 10 tips to becoming an awesome, successful author.

1. Exercise Your Body: Exercise Your Mind

Everyone knows the importance of keeping your body in good shape. However, how does your physicality affect your linguistic proficiency?

As an upcoming writer, you have to embrace the fact that you still need to exercise regularly. Your body needs something to trigger its productivity and creative flow. Your brain cannot work properly if your body is not in good shape. Try making it a habit of having push-ups or squats in your room or near your writing space. This can stimulate your working mindset.

Or, commit to a routine every morning, and challenge yourself physically. Your writing over time will improve, watch.

2. Allow Yourself To Evolve

Great writers are open to change.

They can easily adapt and live as their life unravels before them. Evolving into a better version of yourself may be a little bit scary and challenging, but it is all worth it. Through evolution, you can find out how important your personal and professional journey is in making you a better person. All these changes and learning can definitely help you become a better writer, as these new challenges and experiences will show on your output.

3. Don’t Try To Please Everyone

“You can’t please all of the readers all of the time; you can’t please even some of the readers all of the time, but you really ought to try to please at least some of the readers some of the time.”

You can become a successful author if you can recognize the fact that not all people are willing and able to read and appreciate your work.

You will see how others are even willing to tell you that you cannot make it happen. Others will also tell you that you cannot earn money in writing. You might as well do something like get cash for junk cars instead. To become a successful author, you must learn to look through all of these things. You must learn not to lose your focus and just keep pushing yourself towards your passion.

4. Make Your Imagination Bleed

Write.

Rewrite.

Then write again.

In order to have your work published, it is important to make sure you have learned the ins and outs of writing and editing. It’s not just about grammar and vocabulary. Most of the time, it’s the little burst of creativity that spark out of the blue, and how you inject these golden nuggets into your work. There are moments when you have sleepless nights because of a sudden brainstorming session with yourself about a story plot that could possibly make the ultimate difference. Make sure you are prepared with your inevitable creativity. Practice writing and then rewriting. Do this as often as you can.

5. Seek Motivation & Inspiration

Some say that writing is really easy as long you study everything about the rules of writing. Others say you just need to become diligent with information gathering in order finish your write up.

Whichever is the case, along the way, you will realize that writing can be difficult and tiring at the same time. More often than not, you’ll see the need to reevaluate your professional life and question your reality. At this stage, you need to work with your dynamic duo – motivation and inspiration. Remember, they will never come to you. You need to remind yourself why this is your passion, and go for it. Don’t hold back!

6. Never Burn Rejected Work

Disappointments can be really dark and destructive because you are your own toughest critic.

Do not burn your manuscripts out of spite. Others may reject you. You just need to keep on moving forward. You can improve on your work from the publishers’ feedback, constantly learning and growing along the way. Sometimes, you just need to know what needs to improve.

Try reading your piece again. Doing so can give you a fresh insight and perspective on what you have just done. You can draw out inspiration for a new plot on your next project. Rejected manuscripts are not the end of the line. In fact, they can be a great source of ideas and learning, leading to a new opportunity.

7. Read About Authors Who’ve Made It Work For Them

You can find out how successful authors have reached their level of success by a simple Google search.

Find out how they started their career and what gave them the strength to reach where they are right now. Read about how they manage rejections and what they do to overcome writer’s block. You may also want to consider reading about their tips or messages for people like you who are starting to become successful authors. Furthermore, some of the more well-known authors conduct seminars or workshops. See to it that you can attend one of those. The stories of other successful authors can help you see the world in a different perspective.

8. Seek New Perspectives

Your editor is not an evil person out to stop you in pursuing your dreams. No one in the industry has become successful writer without the help of their editors and proofreaders. The moment you decided to become a writer, you automatically need someone who can give you feedback, edit and proofread your work.

You may be good at editing other people’s work, but it is a different story when it’s your own piece that needs to be proofread. The second (or third) opinion on your work is a big help in order to see any technical missteps and loopholes in your plot. They can also provide suggestions and recommendations on how you can further improve your existing piece.

9. Do Not Submit Your Manuscript to More Than One Publication at the same time.

It is not a pleasant experience for you once two publications accepted your piece, and they published it online or print. They can immediately know that their rival publication has the same piece at their end. You might end up being blacklisted in the industry. It might even be more difficult to work for the next publishing company as they most probably have learned about your blunder. In order to avoid this, wait until your manuscript has been formally accepted, or rejected, by your chosen publication. By then, you can take the necessary steps to move forward with regard to your manuscript.

10. Don’t You Dare Give Up

Never let rejections and disappointments get into your head. You need to keep in mind that successful authors started from the same point where you are at this moment. They have also experienced rejections from a number of publishing companies. They have their fair share of sleepless nights and down times, too. Imagine how many times J.K. Rowling received rejection letters from different publishing companies with her most renowned work – the Harry Potter series.

However, she has never given up, has not allowed rejections and disappointments to get the best of her. See how far she has reached with her career. You can achieve this too!